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1 Nephi 14


Chapter 14

An angel tells Nephi of the blessings and cursings to fall upon the Gentiles—There are only two churches: the Church of the Lamb of God and the church of the devil—The Saints of God in all nations are persecuted by the great and abominable church—The Apostle John will write concerning the end of the world. About 600–592 B.C.

And it shall come to pass, that if the Gentiles shall hearken unto the Lamb of God in that day that he shall manifest himself unto them in word, and also in power, in very deed, unto the taking away of their stumbling blocks—

And harden not their hearts against the Lamb of God, they shall be numbered among the seed of thy father; yea, they shall be numbered among the house of Israel; and they shall be a blessed people upon the promised land forever; they shall be no more brought down into captivity; and the house of Israel shall no more be confounded.

And that great pit, which hath been digged for them by that great and abominable church, which was founded by the devil and his children, that he might lead away the souls of men down to hellyea, that great pit which hath been digged for the destruction of men shall be filled by those who digged it, unto their utter destruction, saith the Lamb of God; not the destruction of the soul, save it be the casting of it into that hell which hath no end.

For behold, this is according to the captivity of the devil, and also according to the justice of God, upon all those who will work wickedness and abomination before him.

And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, Nephi, saying: Thou hast beheld that if the Gentiles repent it shall be well with them; and thou also knowest concerning the covenants of the Lord unto the house of Israel; and thou also hast heard that whoso repenteth not must perish.

Therefore, wo be unto the Gentiles if it so be that they harden their hearts against the Lamb of God.

For the time cometh, saith the Lamb of God, that I will work a great and a marvelous work among the children of men; a work which shall be everlasting, either on the one hand or on the other—either to the convincing of them unto peace and life eternal, or unto the deliverance of them to the hardness of their hearts and the blindness of their minds unto their being brought down into captivity, and also into destruction, both temporally and spiritually, according to the captivity of the devil, of which I have spoken.

And it came to pass that when the angel had spoken these words, he said unto me: Rememberest thou the covenants of the Father unto the house of Israel? I said unto him, Yea.

And it came to pass that he said unto me: Look, and behold that great and abominable church, which is the mother of abominations, whose founder is the devil.

10 And he said unto me: Behold there are save two churches only; the one is the church of the Lamb of God, and the other is the church of the devil; wherefore, whoso belongeth not to the church of the Lamb of God belongeth to that great church, which is the mother of abominations; and she is the whore of all the earth.

11 And it came to pass that I looked and beheld the whore of all the earth, and she sat upon many waters; and she had dominion over all the earth, among all nations, kindreds, tongues, and people.

12 And it came to pass that I beheld the church of the Lamb of God, and its numbers were few, because of the wickedness and abominations of the whore who sat upon many waters; nevertheless, I beheld that the church of the Lamb, who were the saints of God, were also upon all the face of the earth; and their dominions upon the face of the earth were small, because of the wickedness of the great whore whom I saw.

13 And it came to pass that I beheld that the great mother of abominations did gather together multitudes upon the face of all the earth, among all the nations of the Gentiles, to fight against the Lamb of God.

14 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, beheld the power of the Lamb of God, that it descended upon the saints of the church of the Lamb, and upon the covenant people of the Lord, who were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and they were armed with righteousness and with the power of God in great glory.

15 And it came to pass that I beheld that the wrath of God was poured out upon that great and abominable church, insomuch that there were wars and rumors of wars among all the nations and kindreds of the earth.

16 And as there began to be wars and rumors of wars among all the nations which belonged to the mother of abominations, the angel spake unto me, saying: Behold, the wrath of God is upon the mother of harlots; and behold, thou seest all these things—

17 And when the day cometh that the wrath of God is poured out upon the mother of harlots, which is the great and abominable church of all the earth, whose founder is the devil, then, at that day, the work of the Father shall commence, in preparing the way for the fulfilling of his covenants, which he hath made to his people who are of the house of Israel.

18 And it came to pass that the angel spake unto me, saying: Look!

19 And I looked and beheld a man, and he was dressed in a white robe.

20 And the angel said unto me: Behold one of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

21 Behold, he shall see and write the remainder of these things; yea, and also many things which have been.

22 And he shall also write concerning the end of the world.

23 Wherefore, the things which he shall write are just and true; and behold they are written in the book which thou beheld proceeding out of the mouth of the Jew; and at the time they proceeded out of the mouth of the Jew, or, at the time the book proceeded out of the mouth of the Jew, the things which were written were plain and pure, and most precious and easy to the understanding of all men.

24 And behold, the things which this apostle of the Lamb shall write are many things which thou hast seen; and behold, the remainder shalt thou see.

25 But the things which thou shalt see hereafter thou shalt not write; for the Lord God hath ordained the apostle of the Lamb of God that he should write them.

26 And also others who have been, to them hath he shown all things, and they have written them; and they are sealed up to come forth in their purity, according to the truth which is in the Lamb, in the own due time of the Lord, unto the house of Israel.

27 And I, Nephi, heard and bear record, that the name of the apostle of the Lamb was John, according to the word of the angel.

28 And behold, I, Nephi, am forbidden that I should write the remainder of the things which I saw and heard; wherefore the things which I have written sufficeth me; and I have written but a small part of the things which I saw.

29 And I bear record that I saw the things which my father saw, and the angel of the Lord did make them known unto me.

30 And now I make an end of speaking concerning the things which I saw while I was carried away in the Spirit; and if all the things which I saw are not written, the things which I have written are true. And thus it is. Amen.

      • abomination (noun)

        Something that is loathsome, offensive, sinful, or sacrilegious.

      • according to (preposition)

        In a way that agrees with.

      • amen (interjection)

        Let it be so! Often said at the end of religious speeches and prayers.

      • angel (noun)

        Messenger from God. Some are spirits of people who have lived or will later live on the earth. Others are people who have been resurrected.

      • Apostle (proper noun)

        One of twelve leaders chosen by Jesus Christ during His ministry in Jerusalem to guide His Church.

      • B.C. (noun)

        Before the birth of Christ.

      • bear record (verb)

        To give testimony; to state, based on personal knowledge, that something is true.

      • because of (conjunction)

        By reason of; through.

      • before (preposition)

        In front of.

      • behold (interjection, archaic)

        Look! See! In fact.

      • behold (verb)

        To look; to see; to notice.

      • blessed (adjective)

        Having received help, protection, favors, or gifts from God.

      • captivity (noun)

        Being a prisoner or slave.

      • carried away (verb phrase)

        To be moved from one place to another; to be removed from view; to be shown a vision.

      • children of men (noun)

        All people.

      • church (noun)

        Organization; gathering. (In Nephi’s vision this is not limited to religious organizations.)

      • come forth (verb phrase)

        To be brought forward; to be revealed.

      • it came to pass (verb phrase)

        It happened; it took place.

      • cometh (verb, archaic)

        Comes.

      • commence (verb)

        To begin.

      • concerning (preposition)

        About.

      • confound (verb)

        To defeat; to overcome; to frustrate the hopes of; to humiliate.

      • convincing (noun)

        Persuading; proving.

      • covenant (noun)

        A promise God makes to a person or group if they will obey Him.

      • day (noun)

        Period; time.

      • destruction (noun)

        The tearing down or complete ruin of something.

      • devil (noun)

        Satan (also called Lucifer), a spiritual being who rebelled against God and opposes Him. Satan deceives people and tempt them to sin.

      • did, didst (verb, archaic)

        A term used before verbs to make them past tense.

      • eternal (adjective)

        Lasting forever.

      • everlasting (adjective)

        Lasting forever.

      • Father (proper noun)

        God the Father. He created all life and is the Father of our spirits. He rules all things and is just, righteous, merciful, and loving. He is the father of Jesus Christ.

      • for behold (conjunction)

        Therefore; so you see.

      • for (conjunction)

        Because.

      • for (conjunction)

        Because; because you see.

      • fulfill (verb)

        To bring to pass the promises made as part of a covenant.

      • Gentile (proper noun)

        Member of a nation or tribe other than Israel.

      • glory (noun)

        Power; greatness; splendor; magnificence.

      • God (proper noun)

        God the Father or His Son, Jesus Christ. God the Father rules all things with perfect justice, mercy, and love. Jesus Christ often speaks and acts for His Father. He suffered so that we could be forgiven of our sins and be resurrected. The Father and Son are separate individuals but are united in purpose.

      • harden one’s heart (verb phrase)

        Make or become stubborn, wicked, or resistant to good influences.

      • hardness of one’s heart (noun phrase)

        Stubbornness; wickedness; resistance to good influences.

      • hath (verb, archaic)

        Has.

      • hearken (verb)

        To listen; to take advice from; to obey.

      • hell (noun)

        The torment we will feel after this life for our sins if we do not repent.

      • if it so be that (phrase)

        If.

      • in the spirit (prepositional phrase)

        By the Holy Spirit; under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

      • house of Israel (proper noun)

        God’s ancient covenant people, as described in the Bible (house means a nation or tribe); members of God’s Church.

      • Jew (proper noun)

        Member of the tribe of Judah, one of the twelve tribes of Israel; people who lived in the land of Judah.

      • just (adjective)

        Righteous; fair.

      • kindred (noun)

        A group of people who are related to each other.

      • knowest (verb, archaic)

        Know.

      • Lamb, Lamb of God (proper noun)

        A title of Jesus Christ. The lamb can represent gentleness, and it can also refer to His role in the Atonement.

      • lead away (verb phrase)

        To guide someone away from the truth; to persuade someone to act or live in a way that is not righteous.

      • eternal life (noun)

        A state of immortality and joy; the kind of life that God lives.

      • Lord God (noun)

        A term of respect for God the Father or Jesus Christ.

      • Lord (noun)

        A term of respect for God the Father or Jesus Christ.

      • make known (verb)

        To teach; to tell; to reveal.

      • make an end (verb phrase)

        Finish; stop.

      • men (noun)

        People; humanity.

      • man (noun)

        Adult male human being.

      • manifest (verb)

        To appear; to show.

      • marvelous (adjective)

        Wonderful; astonishing.

      • might (verb)

        Can; could.

      • multitude (noun)

        Crowd.

      • nation (noun)

        A large group of people who are related to each other or who have the same language, history, or government; the country where they live.

      • Nephi (proper noun)

        A prophet, fourth son of Lehi; author of the first two books of the Book of Mormon.

      • nevertheless (adverb)

        But still; in spite of this.

      • one (pronoun)

        Someone.

      • ordain (verb)

        Appoint; give authority; perform a ceremony in which a priesthood holder lays his hands on a person’s head and gives that person authority.

      • over (preposition)

        Above in authority or power; having responsibility for.

      • in the own due time of the Lord (adverb phrase)

        In the time the Lord chooses.

      • peace (noun)

        Contentment; freedom from guilt or turmoil; confidence in God’s plan.

      • perish (verb)

        To die or be killed; to be lost spiritually.

      • persecute (verb)

        To hurt or harm someone because of their beliefs or their membership in a group.

      • proceed, proceed forth (verb)

        To come or go out.

      • promised land (proper noun)

        A land that God promises to give to a group of people if they obey Him.

      • repent (verb)

        To feel sorrow for one’s sins, ask to be forgiven, and change one’s life.

      • righteousness (noun)

        Goodness; morality; obedience to God’s commandments.

      • robe (noun)

        A long, loose garment or gown.

      • saints (noun)

        Members of Christ’s Church; individuals become holy through living the principles of the gospel.

      • save it be (adverb phrase)

        Except; other than.

      • save (preposition)

        Except; unless.

      • seal, seal up (verb)

        To mark or bind something to protect it from alteration or unauthorized use; to place something under the Lord’s protection.

      • seed (noun)

        Posterity; descendants.

      • seest (verb, archaic)

        See.

      • shall, should (verb)

        Will, would.

      • should (verb)

        May; must; ought to.

      • it shall came to pass (verb phrase)

        It will happened.

      • soul (noun)

        Spirit; the part of us that exists before birth, that continues after death, and that has awareness and the ability to choose.

      • spake (verb, archaic)

        Spoke.

      • that (conjunction)

        In order that; so that.

      • therefore (adverb)

        For this reason.

      • thou hast (phrase, archaic)

        You have.

      • thou shalt (phrase, archaic)

        You will.

      • thou (pronoun, archaic)

        You.

      • thus (adverb)

        In this way.

      • thy (pronoun, archaic)

        Your.

      • tongue (noun)

        A group of people who speak the same language.

      • unto (preposition)

        Until they receive.

      • unto (preposition)

        To.

      • unto (preposition)

        To.

      • unto (preposition)

        Sufficient for; resulting in.

      • unto (preposition)

        To.

      • war (noun)

        Extended fight between large groups of people.

      • wherefore (adverb)

        So you see; therefore.

      • wherefore (adverb)

        So.

      • whoso (pronoun)

        Anyone that; whoever; whosoever.

      • wickedness (noun)

        Evil; wrongdoing; disobedience to God’s commandments.

      • wo unto (interjection)

        Bad things will happen to; cursed is.

      • word (noun)

        Message; teachings.

      • works (noun)

        Actions; deeds.

      • work (verb)

        To do; to perform.

      • yea (interjection, archaic)

        Indeed; yes. This is pronounced “yay.”